Hello Everyone,
I'm very new to the whole mini-T/D amp thing. (My longtime main stereo setup has been a Denon receiver and an old set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers.)
I recently bought some Pioneer BS22s on sale, as well as a Topping TP20MK2 for a small home office.
I'm generally very happy with the sound of the Topping, especially for the price. I think it's clean and warm (if perhaps a little thin on the low end).
However, I often have the TP20 dialed up past 12 o'clock, and I don't want to push it into distortion, so I've been thinking about getting a desktop T or D amp with more power.
Generally, I've narrowed it down to the Topping TP60 and the SMSL SA98E. While I'd like to get into modding at some point, I'm still in grad school (for a decidedly non-electronics related field) and don't think I'll have time to pick up that hobby at least for a few years. So I'm looking for the best choice without needing to mod it.
I've read all the reviews on this board (and several others) of the TP60 and SA98. It seems they both have their fans and their pros and cons (particularly related to the 2022 chip vs the 7498 chip and the power brick vs. the internal toroidal power supply).
My choices come down to:
1.) The SA98 for about $85
2.) The older version of the TP60 (flat front panel) for about $150
3.) The 2014 version of the TP60 (angled area on the front plate where "Topping" is written) for about $200
Obviously smaller/cheaper is better, which seems to favor the SA98, but sound and dependability is really my main concern. I'd rather pay $200 for the new TP60, for example, if that's the best sounding (and best built) choice.
Any and all thoughts/advice would be appreciated. 🙂
I'm very new to the whole mini-T/D amp thing. (My longtime main stereo setup has been a Denon receiver and an old set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers.)
I recently bought some Pioneer BS22s on sale, as well as a Topping TP20MK2 for a small home office.
I'm generally very happy with the sound of the Topping, especially for the price. I think it's clean and warm (if perhaps a little thin on the low end).
However, I often have the TP20 dialed up past 12 o'clock, and I don't want to push it into distortion, so I've been thinking about getting a desktop T or D amp with more power.
Generally, I've narrowed it down to the Topping TP60 and the SMSL SA98E. While I'd like to get into modding at some point, I'm still in grad school (for a decidedly non-electronics related field) and don't think I'll have time to pick up that hobby at least for a few years. So I'm looking for the best choice without needing to mod it.
I've read all the reviews on this board (and several others) of the TP60 and SA98. It seems they both have their fans and their pros and cons (particularly related to the 2022 chip vs the 7498 chip and the power brick vs. the internal toroidal power supply).
My choices come down to:
1.) The SA98 for about $85
2.) The older version of the TP60 (flat front panel) for about $150
3.) The 2014 version of the TP60 (angled area on the front plate where "Topping" is written) for about $200
Obviously smaller/cheaper is better, which seems to favor the SA98, but sound and dependability is really my main concern. I'd rather pay $200 for the new TP60, for example, if that's the best sounding (and best built) choice.
Any and all thoughts/advice would be appreciated. 🙂
I've never listened to the SA98, but as I said on your other topic, T-amps are known for demanding a VERY clean power source to show their best. So I think that only the fact that the TP-60 has it's own linear PSU, with decent toroidal trans and nice filtering, makes it have a great advantage over pretty much all the other models that use crappy, noisy switching bricks. IMO
Take the experience people are having running them with low internal resistance batteries for example. Clean DC power is crucial for good T-amp sound.
And I don't know what you mean by the 2022 being a disadvantage. IMO, it's not.
Again, although I've never listened to the SA98, I can tell you that technically speaking the TP60 is superior. Both for the linear PSU and for the better circuit IMO. So my vote goes to the new version of the TP60. As I said on the other post, for what I can tell, both the old and the new one have the same basic circuit. The major changes are in the components. The PSU caps for example are 4 Nishicon FW in the new version, compared to 2 no brand in the old (about the same capacitance total though). Also, the input caps are now OEM metalized type, versus probably ceramic type in the old one.
Take the experience people are having running them with low internal resistance batteries for example. Clean DC power is crucial for good T-amp sound.
And I don't know what you mean by the 2022 being a disadvantage. IMO, it's not.
Again, although I've never listened to the SA98, I can tell you that technically speaking the TP60 is superior. Both for the linear PSU and for the better circuit IMO. So my vote goes to the new version of the TP60. As I said on the other post, for what I can tell, both the old and the new one have the same basic circuit. The major changes are in the components. The PSU caps for example are 4 Nishicon FW in the new version, compared to 2 no brand in the old (about the same capacitance total though). Also, the input caps are now OEM metalized type, versus probably ceramic type in the old one.
Thanks for the great, detailed reply.
I didn't mean to imply the 2022 was a disadvantage. Actually, I got the sense from my research (on both English-language boards and German/French via Google translate, which was...interesting) that the 7498 isn't seen as being as "warm" or "musical" sounding as the 2020 or the 2022. (The frequency graphs in tech manual for the 7498 online looks like it has a bit of a boost in the highs, which might be why people say it's a bit more crisp/harsh than the 2022, but I'm guessing people on this board know better than me whether the frequency responses for the chip itself matter much outside of the context of the entire amp.)
The 7498 makes the SA98 a D amp, while the 2022 makes the TP60 a D amp, correct? Or am I confused? Does that make any difference in terms of power consumption or heat? I also wondered if the TP60's actually have off more heat than amps with power bricks?
Finally, is there any concern about having an amp with terroidal transformers near a computer?
I didn't mean to imply the 2022 was a disadvantage. Actually, I got the sense from my research (on both English-language boards and German/French via Google translate, which was...interesting) that the 7498 isn't seen as being as "warm" or "musical" sounding as the 2020 or the 2022. (The frequency graphs in tech manual for the 7498 online looks like it has a bit of a boost in the highs, which might be why people say it's a bit more crisp/harsh than the 2022, but I'm guessing people on this board know better than me whether the frequency responses for the chip itself matter much outside of the context of the entire amp.)
The 7498 makes the SA98 a D amp, while the 2022 makes the TP60 a D amp, correct? Or am I confused? Does that make any difference in terms of power consumption or heat? I also wondered if the TP60's actually have off more heat than amps with power bricks?
Finally, is there any concern about having an amp with terroidal transformers near a computer?
Yeah, I guess you can say that about the 7498.
I don't know if I got your question correctly, but yeah, we say the amp is built "arround" the chip. What makes it a "D" or "T" amp is inside the chip in this case.
Regarding your concern, I would say no problem at all. At least for transformers this size.
I don't know if I got your question correctly, but yeah, we say the amp is built "arround" the chip. What makes it a "D" or "T" amp is inside the chip in this case.
Regarding your concern, I would say no problem at all. At least for transformers this size.
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